KU football seniors hope to finish on high note

Kansas senior Jake Heaps is hoping to cap his college career in a bowl game.

LAWRENCE — When you’re trying fight your way back to respectability, having a boatload of seniors can be a good place to start.

With a bunch of seniors, expectations are naturally raised. That’s the case even for a team like Kansas, which has won six games in the last three years combined. But optimism is abound this spring, and senior quarterback Jake Heaps said there is one goal the Jayhawks have in mind this year — a goal that would make his career come full circle.

“I started out my career in a bowl game and had a very positive experience that one time,” Heaps said. “And I would very much like to end it in the same way my last year. So it means a lot to me. It means a lot to the rest of these guys on the team, and that’s what we’re working for.”

Heaps led BYU to a bowl victory his freshman year but hasn’t played in the postseason since. His sophomore year at BYU, he lost his starting job and later transferred to KU. After witnessing a one-win campaign from the sideline in 2012, Heaps began last season as the starter before being benched in favor of Montel Cozart.

Now as Heaps begins his fifth season as a college athlete, he is competing with Cozart for the starting job. And though Kansas coach Charlie Weis hasn’t said so publicly, signs point to Heaps being the early favorite. But Heaps said he plans on being a leader either way.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about wins and losses. That’s the only thing that I care about,” Heaps said. “When you’re winning games, then everything else comes. So that’s what we’re focusing on as a team this year. And a lot of us, we’re a veteran group. We’ve had two years of this as a team, and for the seniors at least, we’re ready to move on and leave this place in a good place that we all dreamed about or talked about.”

On offense, Nick Harwell, Tony Pierson, Jimmay Mundine and Brandon Bourbon are all seniors playing skill positions. Like Heaps, Mundine is in his fifth year of college football. The senior tight end caught 20 passes for 229 yards last year and led the team with five touchdown catches.

With the new spread offense, the tight end could be a bigger weapon this season. And Mundine is hoping to cap his senior season in style.

“It’s very exciting to see the changes that have taken place and to see it firsthand,” said Mundine, one of the many seniors who committed to KU under former coach Turner Gill. “This definitely could be the year that we could be at our best and fulfill it. There’s a lot of potential out there on the field, and we just have to put it together. I think with the experience and leadership that we have, I really think that’s going to be beneficial and in our corner this year.”

On defense, Ben Heeney, Victor Simmons, Michael Reynolds, Keon Sowers, Dexter McDonald, Jacorey Shepherd and Cassius Sendish are all seniors the team can count on. But for Simmons, the former Olathe North star quarterback turned linebacker, seeing the program fall has been difficult.

“There is a bunch of Kansas guys on the team that have been Jayhawks for their entire lives,” Simmons said. “And to see the struggle, it was rough. And that’s not how Kansas football is. So we want to show everyone what we are. A bowl game is definitely the goal.”

To some, KU’s 3-9 record last year was a step in the right direction. But for others, like Heaps, not so much. He wasn’t satisfied with the finish record-wise, performance-wise or otherwise. And this year, he’s hoping the end result is far more rewarding.

“I think we underperformed as a team,” Heaps said. “I think our record doesn’t indicate what kind of a team we were last year. And for us, I think it’s kind of taking that torch with us through this offseason to continue to work hard and make sure we don’t make the same mistakes that we did last year. We have extra motivation to finish this year out right.”